


9/01/2019: Greatest Fear

by pop_incognito



Series: 365 Drabbles [9]
Category: Free!
Genre: Fluff, Future Fic, M/M, More Australia Shenanigans, Sharks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-07 06:52:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17361086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pop_incognito/pseuds/pop_incognito
Summary: Sousuke didn't know that aquariums could be quite so scary.





	9/01/2019: Greatest Fear

**Author's Note:**

> Eyyy, this is a companion piece to [Bucket List](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17283974), but you don't have to read that to get this.

The day after Rin convinces Sousuke to climb the Sydney Harbour bridge with him, Rin tells Sousuke they’re going to do something fun. Sousuke’s eye twitches as his coffee cup halts halfway to his mouth. “ _My_ idea of fun, or _your_ idea of fun?” he asks suspiciously, because Rin’s idea of fun includes doing things like, well, climbing the Sydney Harbour bridge. Rin probably wants them to scale the damn Opera House or something. Go stick their heads in lions’ mouths or go on that giant, fuck-off rollercoaster at Luna Park.

If Sousuke had known that Sydney was going to be so dangerous, he might have just stayed in Japan, his missing Rin be damned.

“Yours, I promise,” Rin says, leaning his elbows on the counter in his kitchen and wiggling his hips like an excited puppy. If he had a tail, he’d be wagging it. “I got us tickets to the aquarium – they have dugongs!”

“What the hell is a dugong?” Sousuke intones, although he is much more interested in visiting the aquarium than he is braving Luna Park, although he’s sure that his partner is going to drag him to the amusement park eventually.

Rin’s eyes light up, and he flaps around for the brochure, brandishing it in Sousuke’s face proudly. “Look, they’re like manatees!” And he points at the large, grey creature on the glossy brochure page.

It’s kind of cute, in an ugly way. Sort of like Momo’s stag beetles. “Alright, I guess this is way safer than yesterday…” Sousuke trails off thoughtfully, tapping a finger to his chin. “Do they have a whale shark?” he asks curiously, and he pouts a little when Rin shakes his head sadly. “Aw, damn.”

“We can get a plushie one in the gift shop, though!” Rin is quick to point out, and he shows off the picture of the gift shop, where there is indeed a shelf full of whale shark plushies. Sousuke is already planning on buying the biggest one they have on offer, even if he has to purchase an extra plane ticket to take it home again.

Nodding, Sousuke finally takes the first sip of his morning coffee. “Alright, then. Let’s go to the aquarium.”

Sousuke should have known that Rin would have something devious up his sleeve.

“How do you keep talking me into these things?” he asks Rin several hours later as the two of them pull on wetsuits and large diving goggles in a small changeroom that smells like salt and brine and fish. Aside, Sousuke idly wonders if this is what the inside of Haruka’s head smells like, and then shakes his head to get rid of that ridiculous thoughts. He has more important things to think about, like the fact that his wonderful, beloved fiancé appears to be trying to kill Sousuke on this trip. “ _Shark diving,_ Rin? _Really_?”

Rin is so excited he is practically vibrating on the spot, his wet hair clinging to his neck and his eyes glittering in the fluorescent lights. Of course he’s keen, Sousuke suspects that all the Matsuoka men are part shark if their crazy teeth are anything to go by. “Oh, come on!” Rin cheers, snapping the strap of his goggles just like he always does and then reaches for the flippers still sitting on the bench, the matching swim cap beside it. “This is going to be freaking awesome!” He giggles slightly manically. “Sharks, Sou! Real sharks, right there!”

“I’m going to die,” Sousuke mumbles, but he still finds himself pulling the rest of his diving gear on.

Because Rin is almost an Olympic swimmer, Sousuke isn’t too shabby in the water himself, and they both speak fairly decent English, they’re allowed to dive without a translator, and they even get to skip most of the training session being held beforehand, meeting up with the aquarium’s diver and the three other people going with them.

Diving into the huge tank is a bit of a blur for Sousuke, but the first thing he sees when he finally prises his eyes open is the biggest sea turtle he’s ever seen in his entire life, which is pretty fucking cool, so maybe this wasn’t a horrible idea. They have been given somewhat free range to swim with the creatures in the tank for half an hour, and although he tries to stick close to Rin, Sousuke loses him at one point when a giant school of silver and yellow fish the size of huskies swim between them. Sousuke decides that Rin can look after himself, and he trails beside a stingray that Sousuke could use as a blanket if he felt the need for a while, marvelling at all the fishes in the water around him.

He finds Rin eventually, and Sousuke’s blood runs even colder than the crisp saltwater around them.

Rin is holding himself completely still in the water a few feet in front of Sousuke, face to face with a shark that has to be over three meters long, which appears to be observing Rin with the same level of curiosity that Rin is paying it. Sousuke sees Rin flash a sharp-toothed grin, and the shark seems to make the same fucking expression, drifting ever closer to the man.

Sousuke can see the headlines now: ‘Bipedal Shark Person Consumed Whole By Challenging Shark’. He wonders if there’s a way to intervene without losing a hand.

Luckily, the timers in their suits begin to buzz before he has to watch Rin get eaten by a shark, and Sousuke has never been more grateful to climb out of a body of water before. When they’re alone in the changeroom again, Sousuke grabs his half-naked fiancé and crushes Rin’s body to his chest, clutching him tightly like the shark is going to leap out of the drain and swallow Rin whole. “That was fucking terrifying,” he breathes into the salty strands of Rin’s hair.

Rin pushes away enough to stare up at Sousuke with his eyebrows drawn together. “You looked like you were having some fun with that stingray, though. I promise they don’t always kill people.”

“I don’t even want to know,” Sousuke mutters, and he presses a kiss to Rin’s forehead. “I never, _ever_ want to see you that close to a real shark ever again, damnit. That scared the shit out of me!”

A tiny little laugh bubbles out Rin’s mouth, and Sousuke glares at him, slightly affronted that Rin is mocking his fear. “Sou, that was a grey nurse shark,” Rin explains carefully, like Sousuke is a little child. “Their mouths don’t open wide enough to even take my hand off. I was perfectly safe.”

Sousuke has the humility to blush, a little embarrassed. “It was still scary,” he mutters, and Rin goes up on his toes to kiss Sousuke’s cheek.

“Don’t worry,” Rin whispers, and his smile drops just for a second. “I’ll tell you a secret: I was pretty scared, too. Sharks are terrifying. You should have seen its teeth!”

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment and leave kudos, I love you all!


End file.
